Fury at Luna Rossa’s refusal to delay racing until fans can return
Luna Rossa last night denied that they had acted “without honour or respect” for their hosts New Zealand after a row broke out over the schedule for the rest of their Prada Cup final against Ineos Team UK.
Both the America’s Cup Event authority and Ineos were in favour of pushing racing back by a week to give fans the best possible chance of entering the race village and spectator boats the best possible chance of going out on the water.
Auckland moved from a Level Three lockdown to a Level Two from midnight yesterday. But crowds are still not allowed back into the race village.
However, Luna Rossa, who lead Ineos Team UK
4-0 in the first-to-seven series which will decide who goes through to face New Zealand in next month’s America’s Cup match, were dead set against any delay.
The Italians, who are the Challenger of Record, argued that behind-closed-doors racing was permitted and insisted that the rules agreed by all teams were clear that the Prada Cup final had to be completed by Feb 24 “without any possible extension”. If the series was not completed by then, Luna Rossa said, “the winner is the team with the highest score at the date of the final scheduled date”. With any changes to the protocols having to be agreed by both the Defender and the Challenger of Record, Luna Rossa were within their rights. Racing will now resume either tomorrow or Saturday, depending on further talks today. The Italians’ stance drew a withering response from the chair of America’s Cup Events, Tina Sym
mans, last night. “Since Sunday, we have worked really hard on behalf of everyone in Auckland and all Kiwis to give the Challenger of Record the opportunity to demonstrate some honour and respect for this country and delay the Prada Cup until we have a greater chance of everyone being able to enjoy and benefit from being back into Level One,” she said.
“Clearly they have forgotten the words of their leader Patrizio Bertelli at the opening press conference, who spoke about how privileged everyone is to be in Auckland without significant Covid restrictions and that therefore everyone has a commitment and responsibility to deliver great sportsmanship and the Prada Cup to be a major sporting event.
“This plea has fallen on deaf ears and it’s clear that their focus is solely on Luna Rossa taking the Prada Cup, rather than the greater good of the country who have worked so hard in order to be in a position to stage this event.”
Luna Rossa’s PR director, Francesco Longanesi Cattani, hit back at those claims in a press conference last night. “I totally disagree,” he said. “We honour this country. I keep saying, ‘We are in heaven and it is a privilege to be here.’ I think it’s a very unfair comment. It’s a populistic comment most of all. The fact is that the rule is there. You can’t change the rules.”
The weather forecast is for lighter winds this weekend, which would favour Luna Rossa.
Mike Whan will become chief executive of the United States Golf Association this summer following his departure from the LPGA. Whan, who replaces Mike Davis, announced his intention to step down as LPGA commissioner last month after 11 years at the helm. USGA president Stu Francis said: “Mike Whan is a proven, successful and transformative leader.”